


Only the 3rd Weirdest Thing

by Catharrington



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Post Season 2, Spin the Bottle, Underage Drinking, being a jerk isnt flirting billy omg, billy keeps trying to peg him, slightly drunk steve but nothing happens i promise, steve keeps trying to be a dumb teenager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22991764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catharrington/pseuds/Catharrington
Summary: Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington don’t talk, they don’t longingly glance, and they sure as hell don’t go to the same parties and play spin the bottle.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 9
Kudos: 95





	Only the 3rd Weirdest Thing

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first fic i ever wrote for Harringrove. I love silly tropes and this is literally just spin the bottle trope. But I also love a sad, ptsd struggling Steve. Enjoy. This is a cross post from my tumblr [Here](https://catharrington.tumblr.com/post/190114584226/only-the-3rd-weirdest-thing-billy-hargrove-and) where i first posted it. Thank you so much for reading!

Steve was tired of parties. It’s all bullshit rang in his ears like a mantra, but yet here he stood. Outside Carol’s door knocking so softly he wished she wouldn’t hear it. But of course they were eagerly awaiting the arrival of King Steve.

Tommy and Carol opened the door and smiled in unison. It made Steve think briefly of twiddle dee and twiddle dum from Alice in Wonderland. He scolded himself for insulting his friends and forced a smile back. That’s why he had come to this party after all: Tommy and Carol are his friends! And it’s his senior year so the parties are louder and larger and he just has to be there or be square! Steve could hear the voice of Carol and her pink lipgloss saying those words to him last week. A hard clap landed on his shoulder and he was lead inside.

“Steve you actually showed!” She announced, her pink lip gloss toned up with a bright red one instead. It did nothing to hide her cruel smirk. There was a respectable amount of people already gathered in the house who were all equally interested in his arrival.

“Yeah, well,” Steve stood up tall and smiled, “couldn’t pass up taking some of your free beer?” He said so very cool. Like none of this bothered him, and there were not demon creatures living in the woods he fought off with a bat covered in nails the other month. Steve was interested in the free beer.

Tommy laughed his familiar laugh and said, “Let’s get this guy a beer then!” And just like that a beer was pushed into Steve’s hand. He didn’t need the peer pressure to want to open the can as quick as it was passed to him and start chugging it down. If being in this light has taught him one thing it’s the more you drink the better you feel. And right now Steve didn’t feel peachy. So he drank it all in one breath and reveled in the applause. Just like nothing had changed.

He crushed the can and passed it to carol who was graceful enough to take it and lead him to the kitchen to find more. He just hoped he wasn’t coming off as desperate to get drunk, but in honesty he was desperate to get drunk.

Three beers down and he was feeling warm already but not much happier when the door opened again. This time it wasn’t a silence waiting to be impressed, the crowd didn’t need pleasing. They erupted into another fit as soon as the new guest entered. Hot and heavy, Billy Hargrove strutted inside and shrugged off his jacket- giving the audience a good show of his open shirt. Tommy lunged to catch the leather before it fell, and gingerly placed it on the rack.

Steve grabbed another beer and drank it down. He hasn’t talked to Billy since he got his face beat in by the other boy. They had passed in hallways and played basket ball once in the short time, but they haven’t spoken a word to the other. Steve has noticed that Billy’s insistent glaring and snarling hasn’t let up. Usually when there is beef it ends with a fight, but something in Billy has yet to be quenched.

Billy basked in his greatness a minute longer before he too was ushered into the kitchen to get a drink and maybe put on a show of seeing Steve like he had at the last Halloween party. The audience was red hot for their meeting, and charged electricity was in the air. But Steve didn’t give them a show. He just kept leaned over on the island counter, in a very cool way, and buried his face in his can. Billy surprisingly did nothing but smirk.

There was a moment of silence in the crowded kitchen as the two boys stood on either end of the island counter. They watched the other: Billy like a hound dog, and Steve like a fox.

But the moment didn’t last forever as teenagers attention spans are short. Chatter about movies and sport games turned up like a dial on the radio. Begrudgingly, Tommy, Carol, and Billy chit chatted about the latest basket ball game instead of noticing Steve.

The party went on like a normal party would. No demons in the forest or bats with nails to wield. One six pack in and Steve had actually begun to feel happier. He actually lifted himself from the island counter and was holding a conversation with a pretty girl from his language arts class. Her name was something that started with an A, and she had short brown hair that bounced everywhere. Steve spent a good portion of his attention span trying to not think of how it looked like Nancy’s hair. He has always had a preferences for blondes with curls, he argued with himself, Nancy ruined brown hair forever thanks a lot.

Amy- Annie- Amanda? She asked Steve if he wanted to join them in a game and he was just drunk enough to say yes. He followed her to a quaint circle of equally drunk teens that were holding an empty bottle of tequila. Steve might be drunk, but he knew spin the bottle when he saw it. Maybe this would be a good distraction, he considered. Maybe this would distract him from the shame of how he was to scared to go anywhere without remembering to put a bloodied bat full of nails in his trunk. Steve agreed it was worth a try as he let himself be guided and pushed down to a place in the circle.

They were in game and happy to see more people join, especially the girls were happy to see Steve join. It was a while before Steve’s turn and he just smirked like he had everything under control. Two turns went by, two boys who were friends got the same girl in a row and she blushed but leaned forward for a short kiss both times. The boys high fived, then passed the turn to a girl on their left- but the bottle was snatched up.

Billy Hargrove loomed over the circle like a lion on a rock, smiling. “Would you guys mind if I joined?” He purred, then made room for himself to sit down without waiting for a reply. “Used to play this game back in California, I can show you how to really get your rocks off, Hawkins!” He placed the bottle expertly down in the middle and flicked his wrist to let it spin.

The smile had mostly faded from Steve’s face when Billy sat down all except what he could force to stay, but when the tequila bottle slowed and stopped to point its rim right between his big brown eyes, Steve’s smile completely slipped. A melodious ringing of giggles from the girls drowned out the gasping from the boys. It was fun to have a same sex kiss, they wanted it from the girls, but when it came to the boy’s it was a test of true strength. A double dog dare to see how far someone could be pushed. Steve had done it before of course he knew he was strong enough but it’s different now.

Now he was back at the Byers drive way watching Billy blow smoke and puff out his chest through tears. Steve might need help with his algebra but he's not dumb enough to miss someone on the brink of a breakdown when he’s seeing it, he’s looked in a mirror enough. It wasn’t the horrible dreams and nightmares, even before that it was his father being so disappointed he wouldn’t spare Steve a single word. It was his mother looking on sadly then plastering a candy smile on her face when she noticed that Steve was looking at her. “We can pay for you to have a tutor!” She chirped. Because that’s what Steve needed. He needed his parents to spend more money like he needed another black eye.

And Steve could see it in Billy’s eyes that night that someone let him down. Someone who Billy cared about didn’t know what he needed. Someone didn’t care about Billy back. Steve knows that flavor of longing so well it made him dissociate when he fought with Billy that night. Really he would loved to have shared with him that he knows, he can see, and he doesn’t deserve that. No one does, not even the big school bully Billy Hargrove. But in Hawkins boys can’t talk about that. Steve wouldn’t want his dad to say that specific word to him in that specific tone of voice that made Steve’s heart shrivel up and blacken.

Now he was back in the living room at the party with Billy leaning into the circle, his tongue dancing as he laughed along with the girls. “Harrington,” he leered and it was soft like a silk kimono robe, “I gotta say, I thought I’d be bashing your face in again tonight, not some girly shit like this?” He turned it up at the end like a question.

“For real, Hargrove,” Steve willed the words out and thankfully they didn’t break. “I didn’t think you’d do anything to me tonight, except give me a headache with all your prissy shit talking.” That earned a chorus of laughter.

Billy rose to his knees. He lifted one leg to a kneeling stance and leaned over to even his eyes with Steve. “Are you going to play the game? Or pussy out?” Billy dragged out the words with more lip licking. Steve felt his stomach tighten up at the thought of how he had tempted him so long with that from a distance and now he’s got those wet lips face to face.

Steve lifted himself to his knees and mirrored Billy’s knelt over stance. They have to lean awkwardly into the middle of the circle and kiss for everyone to see. That’s the rules of the game. Billy was already there with his top half in the middle, waiting for his chance to pounce. Steve kept his back straight and taller than Billy, letting himself look down at the other boy. If he ever wanted to know what it was like to put his hand into an open flame, this would be the closest thing. Billy was on fire and Steve could read it all over his face, and his warmth was making heat rise in Steve. The heat started at his hips, just where his sweater brushed over the hem of his jeans, and he just hoped it wasn’t showing as a blush on his cheeks. Boys are not supposed to blush when they kiss other boys. Steve could hear his fathers voice again and he finally leaned down to touch the flame.

Billy took the reigns, always hot and heavy, he reached forward to grasp the back of Steve’s arm and lead him the rest of the way forward so their lips ghosted over each other. Steve’s eyebrows where furrowed together but he rolled his eyes at the eagerness. Billy pulled him in and kissed Steve with everything he had. Both their eyes fluttered closed but Steve almost snapped his back open when he felt the teeth scraping against his bottom lip.

Instantly, it clicked for Steve that Billy wanted more than a peck. It happened in that instant that Billy licked open Steve’s lips and let himself inside, wetting and tasting all the crevices he could reach with that skilled tongue. Steve had to will back a thirsty moan. It had been a long time sense he kissed someone who really wanted to be kissed. But the context was different, Billy was a showman and he wanted a fight with fists or with tongues. The demons in the woods gurgled up a scream and the sharpness of the nails glittered in the moonlight, and Steve decided that he was done fighting with Billy Hargrove.

So his lips turned up in the corners showing a small smile, and his hand delicately lifted to cup Billy’s cheek, and Steve let him pour as much as he could into this kiss. Billy lashed out his tongue and thrashed with his teeth but Steve only replied with softly moving his jaw in time and allowing the boy to taste every inch of his month he claimed. He wasn’t going to fight back, especially against the voice in his head thinking of how much he loved the feeling of fire. Even Billy’s chin that looked so strong was soft under his fingers, even the muscles seemed to give with a gentle touch.

Steve didn't have much time to feel more before Billy was backing away. The lion leaned back on his heels and watched Steve from down the bridge of his nose. It was evidenced on his face that Steve did not give him the reaction he was looking for. Only a second ticked by, just as Steve let out a breath he was holding, before the audience erupted into cheering. Billy did it: he gave the gaggle the show they were looking for. Steve smirked at them and knew that he was a contender in his own sense, less like a lion and more like a ninja. Billy made a large production of wiping the back of his hand over his lips and bumping elbows with his friend sitting beside him.

Steve sat back cross legged on the floor and felt like he could see two large red velvet curtains drawing to a close. There were many things he wanted to say, and there was almost an awkwardness in the silence of the two. But nothing was spoken. The bottle was simply picked up and passed to the next player.

Amy- Ashley- Amber? was still stilling next to Steve and courageously ran her fingers over his hand and up his arm, pushing the sleeve of his sweater up as she went. Steve became aware how tight his muscles were drawn, he couldn’t even feel the way his veins were standing out. Breathing was hard when all he wanted to do was reach over and pull Billy back for another kiss.

“Let’s go someplace else?” She asked, “You want another beer from the kitchen?” Steve let himself be manhandled again and smiled so very cool as he agreed to another beer. They rose and walked away arms locked, Billy only glanced once as they walked away.

Steve drank another and made out with his classmate, her name did start with an A he remembered, only for a short time before he could feel exhaustion take its toll. She was upset so he let her write down her number before he left. Just her number and not her name so that’s very helpful.

When Steve finally made it outside into the cold air he let it get taken by a gust of wind. And almost like the paper he stumbled over to his burgundy car and fumbled around with his keys. Driving drunk was low on the list of dangerous super stupid decisions he had made that year. He was still trying with the keys when a heavy hand clapped over the roof of his car. With hazy eyes, Steve looked up to see Billy watching with amusement.

“How many have you drank tonight, King Steve?” He kept his voice low.

Steve sighed and returned to his keys. “7? Maybe 10? Don’t think it matters to you much, Hargrove. Thought you wanted me dead?”

Billy smiled as softly as his voice. “Dead,” he repeated, “nope. How am I supposed to kick your ass again on the court if you wrap this preppy shit around a tree?”

Steve sighed and threw his hands up. “Don’t insult the ride!” He slurred. “What are you even doing here, haven’t you had enough? Are you going to lecture me on safe driving or some shit? Give me a ride home? Turn me into Hopper and let me sit in the drunk tank?”

Steve was rambling so he stopped to take a breath, “Whatever you do I just don’t care anymore. It’s all bullshit!” He knew he was looking messy, but he couldn’t help it. Keeping up appearances was mentally exhausting and he couldn’t stand it a second longer.

Billy looked up at Steve, the smile gone from his kiss swollen lips and the fire almost gone from his brilliant blue eyes. Steve felt like he was looking into the ocean, dangerous and beautiful all at the same time, and it made him blush.

“Am I gonna lecture you? No. Turn you into Hopper? Tempting... but nah.” Billy sighed softly as he lifted himself from the side of the car. “But I am offering you a ride home, Harrington.”

Steve had a lot of weird things happen to him lately, but this is neck and neck with the weirdest. He took a long moment to just blink, his brown eyes sagged and glossy with beer. And he knew he was allowing his mouth hang open as he considered, and that was also something he wasn’t fully aware of, but he did notice how Billy’s eyes trailed down to them. Another second of consideration and Steve made his own show of shrugging his shoulders.

“Yeah, okay, alright,” he let the words roll off his tongue almost all at the same time. “But can we stop and get like a burger or some shit?”

Billy smiled all the way up to his eyes. “Yeah, a burger or some shit sounds good.”


End file.
